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Inhabitat's Week in Green: DIY velomobile, Lego braille printer and a supercharged anode battery
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Sure, 3D printers can create everything from jewelry to entire houses, so why not sweaters? Gerard Rubio just debuted the OpenKnit Printer, a 3D printer that can knit anything from a hat to a sweater in less than an hour. In other 3D printing news, the toy company Hasbro is partnering with 3D Systems to create low-cost 3D printers that kids could use to create their own toys. Meanwhile a seventh grader from California created a working braille printer using a Lego Mindstorms kit. In green transportation news, a pair of car companies has announced plans to create the world's largest electric vehicle-charging network in China. And in northern Wisconsin, architect Kelly Davis designed an amazing tiny home that functions like a cabin, but is technically considered an RV.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: NASA's healing device, vertical gardens and a grass-powered robot mower
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Solar power just got a big boost as Ivanpah, the world's biggest solar thermal power plant, was just switched on in the California desert. The massive plant, which is partly owned by Google, will provide enough clean energy to power 140,000 homes. Ivanpah wasn't the only major breakthrough in clean energy this week: For the first time, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved a nuclear fusion reaction that produced more energy than it took in. In Oregon, officials gave the green light to the first offshore wind farm on the West Coast of the US. At the intersection of renewable energy and modern design, a giant photovoltaic cube appeared in the streets of Milan, showing that solar power can be beautiful. The sun isn't the only natural source of energy: Swiss designer Fabienne Felder collaborated with a few Cambridge scientists to produce the world's first radio that is completely powered by plants.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: floating cities, vegetable synthesizer and a syringe that seals gunshot wounds
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. All eyes turned to Russia last week as the Winter Olympics kicked off in Sochi. The opening ceremony took place in the Fisht Olympic Stadium, a venue designed by Populous that was inspired by Fabergé eggs. But despite promises that this year's games would be zero-waste, environmental groups have countered that the event won't live up to its green claims. In other green design news, Paris is planning to turn abandoned underground metro stations into restaurants, auditoriums and even underground swimming pools. In London, a series of impressive origami-inspired pavilions popped up in Canary Wharf. In Abu Dhabi, Inhabitat obtained some exclusive photographs of the Al Bahr Towers, which are cooled with the world's largest computerized façade. A new study suggests that white roofs are actually more effective at fighting climate change than green roofs, but planning for climate change will require more than just a coat of white paint. Some prominent thinkers are suggesting that as ocean levels rise, we will be forced to build floating cities -- or at the very least, buildings that are better adapted to water.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: carbon fiber 3D printer, mollusk shell glass and a self-sustaining island
Wouldn't it be great if you could just snap your fingers and a pizza would appear? It might not be too far off: NASA recently funded a plan to build a 3D food printer for astronauts, and a new video shows the prototype in action. In other 3D printing news, Stratasys just unveiled the world's first multi-color, multi-material 3D printer. And in San Francisco, a race car part company recently produced the world's first carbon fiber 3D printer, which can print parts that are 20 times stiffer than plastic. On the wearable tech front, Google Glass is getting a big-time face-lift with prescription lenses and stylish frames. And the design firm Lemur Studio unveiled plans for a life-saving boot insert that can detect land mines from a distance of 6.5 feet. In other innovation news, the Swedish design studio Tomorrow Machine has developed a new coating that makes food simply roll off your plates and bowls, making cleaning the dishes a breeze. And in order to reduce weight and cargo on future missions, NASA plans to make oxygen on Mars and water on the moon.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: blue lava, biodegradable batteries and a self-cleaning t-shirt
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. China is facing a pollution crisis. In cities like Beijing, the smog has gotten so thick it's often difficult to see the sky - which begs the question: Does China's capital need an artificial sun? The problem isn't confined to China's borders, either: A new study has shown that Chinese pollution is crossing the Pacific Ocean, affecting the western US. Could geoengineering provide a fix? To deal with the problem, scientist Yu Shaocai has proposed using giant sprinklers that spray water into the atmosphere of heavily polluted cities like Beijing to clear toxins out of the air. Air pollution isn't the only way humans are shaping the environment -- people in northern European cities have recently witnessed a mysterious aurora borealis-like glow that is caused by a combination of manmade light pollution and ice crystals trapped in the air. The natural world has plenty mysteries of its own: Photographer Olivier Grunewald recently captured an amazing set of pictures of an Indonesian volcano that erupted with rivers of blue lava.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Navia, $100 prosthetic limbs and a controlled nuclear meltdown
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. As most of the US bundled up and tried to stay warm during last week's unprecedented "polar vortex," the tech world descended on Las Vegas for the annual International CES. Intel started things off by vowing to use only conflict-free minerals in its microprocessors, and Ford officially unveiled its very first solar-powered car. Manufacturers also showcased several gadgets focused on personal improvement -- check out this smart bed that helps control snoring and the Lumo Lift, a gizmo that gently nags you to stand up straight. Also at CES, MPOWERD launched a colorful new inflatable solar lantern that will retail for just $25. In other green lighting news, Hulger introduced the Plumen 002, an innovative CFL that the company hopes will bring "magic and poetry back to the humble light bulb." Technology isn't just getting greener -- it's also changing lives. Case in point: Mick Ebeling, CEO and founder of Not Impossible Labs, recently traveled to Sudan to produce $100 3D-printed prosthetic limbs for amputees in war-torn Sudan. Apple has given its top-of-the-line workstation, the Mac Pro, a makeover that uses 74 percent less aluminum and steel than the previous generation. For backyard gardeners, Togetherfarm has produced a modular garden box system that snaps together like Lego bricks. And in other Lego news, Lego announced that a new Simpsons set would be produced this year.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Mission Mars One, MulchFest 2014 and a pickup truck made of ice
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Ever wish you could just get away from it all? Mission Mars One is a prime opportunity to secure a one-way ticket away from Earth. The Dutch nonprofit organizing the mission just finished screening its first round of applicants, and it will soon move on to the second round. The Mars mission is still more than a decade away, but here on Earth, we're seeing plenty of life-changing innovations. In June, a paralyzed teen will make the ceremonial first kick of the World Cup using a mind-controlled exoskeleton. Ghana has some of the worst sanitation in the world, but MIT's Susan Murcott is looking to provide clean drinking water to people with an amazing $6 water filter that's made from a big ceramic bowl. Embedding batteries in the human body for medical applications is a tricky task, but a team of scientists just created biological batteries made from cuttlefish ink that can be consumed in a pill. And on the design front, Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava is facing legal action from his home city of Valencia over the beautiful, but deteriorating €100 million Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia opera house.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: SuperPier, reversing the aging process and an artificial, self-regulating heart
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Well folks, we've made it through two major holidays, with just one more to go. We can't look into a crystal ball to see what 2014 has in store for us, but looking into Rawlemon's Betaray prototype might be the next best thing: It's a giant transparent marble capable of concentrating solar energy 10,000 times. If hanging out with all those nieces and nephews over the holidays has you feeling your age, you'll be thrilled to know that Harvard scientists have successfully reversed the aging process in a group of laboratory mice. And if you're already bored with typical 3D printing news, here's something new: Boots Industries just developed a new 3D printer that's capable of replicating itself.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: doggie translator, full-size Lego hot rod and skyscraper cemeteries
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Do you ever wish you knew exactly what your dog is thinking? A team of designers from the Nordic Society for Invention and Discovery is playing Doctor Dolittle -- they've developed a doggie headset that can read animal brainwaves and translate them into human speech. That's just one of the many amazing scientific breakthroughs we've witnessed this week. South Korean scientists developed the world's first nanobot that can both detect and treat cancer. Rawlemon unveiled a gigantic crystal ball that can magnify solar energy 10,000 times -- that's enough to harvest light from the sun, moon and clouds. For the first time, researchers at the University of Cambridge used an inkjet printer to print living retinal cells, which could be used to replace defective eye tissue. And this week, Inhabitat interviewed Natural Machine's Chief Marketing Officer Lynette Kucsma to talk about an amazing new 3D printer that can cook up edible designs.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: eco-friendly Christmas trees, Kingdom of Erebor Lego replica and a ring that translates sign language
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. At this time of year, you tend to see lots of cars with Christmas trees strapped to their roofs. But that could become a less common sight due to climate change -- extreme weather events are making life harder for tree farmers, causing tree shortages in the northeastern US. As an alternative, Inhabitat rounded up a list of this year's top eco-friendly faux Christmas trees. In New York, this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is lit up with 45,000 solar-powered LED lights. In the spirit of the season, Russian photographer Alexey Kljatov took some stunning macro photos of snowflakes by hacking a cheap Canon PowerShot. Inhabitat also unveiled its annual green gadget gift guide, and we shared the real story behind the "design" of Christmas (hint: It involves Santa and 'shrooms).
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Apple's new headquarters, rocket-powered bike and bees that detect cancer
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. A flying saucer is set to land in Silicon Valley! This week, the Cupertino City Council gave a big thumbs-up to Apple's new $5 billion headquarters. The circular building is designed by Foster + Partners, and it looks like a futuristic wonderland for tech workers. Lego bricks are mighty popular in the design world, but can you imagine an entire house that snaps together? That's the basic idea behind Eric Schimelpfening's WikiHouse, which can be customized to fit a user's needs and created using a 3D printer. In other green architecture news, starchitect Zaha Hadid shared images of her proposed Qatar World Cup stadium, which will use passive design to cool itself. Architect Sou Fujimoto released plans for a complex in Doha that uses the mist from interior waterfalls to provide relief from the region's intense heat. The world-famous Swedish Ice Hotel is one structure that doesn't need to worry about keeping cool. Quite the contrary: Swedish law requires that the owners of the structure, which is made from ice, install fire alarms to comply with national building regulations.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: futuristic automation, underwater kites and a floating nuclear power plant
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Twitter's stock market debut was the big story this week, but it wasn't the only news out of Silicon Valley. Facebook just announced that starchitect Frank Gehry will design the company's London and Dublin offices. Gehry is already working on designing Facebook's Menlo Park headquarters. In other tech news, Apple is opening a new manufacturing plant in Mesa, Ariz., that will be entirely powered by the sun, and the company filed a patent for a futuristic automation system that could remote control your house. Meanwhile, electric carmaker Tesla is contemplating building the largest battery factory in the world to keep pace with booming EV sales. And on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, Kyocera Corporation just launched Japan's largest offshore solar power plant. The new plant will provide enough energy to power 22,000 households.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: shape-shifting tires, modular smartphone and the burgeoning cockroach industry
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Elon Musk made headlines around the world this summer when he lifted the curtain on the "hyperloop" -- a concept for an ultra-fast train that could transport passengers at speeds of 600 MPH. Now a team of engineers has announced plans to build a working hyperloop prototype by next year. Musk isn't behind the plan, but his company Tesla made a couple of major announcements this week. First, Tesla bought nearly 2 billion Panasonic lithium-ion battery cells. Then, the electric carmaker completed a network of electric vehicle charging stations stretching all the way from San Diego to Vancouver. While hyperloop talk is speeding up, bikes are continuing to grow in popularity -- more bikes were sold than cars in 23 European countries last year, proving that you don't have to reinvent the wheel to go green. On the other hand, reinventing the wheel is exactly what design student Ackeem Ngwenya did when he created a shape-shifting tire that can adapt to different vehicle types and road conditions. In other global transportation news, Turkey unveiled the world's first intercontinental underwater rail tunnel, linking the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. And at the 6th Annual US-China Transportation Forum, Chinese officials announced that they are expanding their nationwide network of highways, railways and airports, while the US federal government struggles to maintain the country's crumbling infrastructure.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: lane-straddling bus, invisible skyscraper and space vegetables
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. When it comes to public transportation, taking the bus is the least sexy option. Buses are slow; they make frequent stops; and because they share the road with cars, they get stuck in traffic. But a new proposal for a giant lane-straddling bus would eliminate traffic congestion by letting cars pass right through the middle of it. The futuristic bus is just one of several stories about innovations in green transportation on Inhabitat this week. Mercedes-Benz just completed the first cross-country trip for a self-driving car with its S500 Intelligent Drive research vehicle, and BMW unveiled the official production model of its 2015 i8 plug-in hybrid sports car at the Frankfurt Motor Show. In other green car news, Nissan announced that it is in the final stages of developing its second electric vehicle -- the e-NV200 compact van. In an effort to make flat tires a thing of the past, Korean manufacturer Hankook has produced a puncture-proof, airless tire that is made from 95 percent recyclable materials. And in more good news for green cars, August was the best month ever for US sales of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and conventional hybrids.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: geodesic houseboat, orbital photovoltaic plant and color-changing syringes
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Tesla has been on a tear this year, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the Silicon Valley-based electric car maker is using up the world's supply of lithium-ion batteries, spurring manufacturers to ramp up global production. In other green transportation news, Smart has unveiled the Fourjoy electric concept car in advance of the Frankfurt Motor Show. Barcelona launched the world's first public electric scooter-sharing scheme, which promises to help users save money and decrease fuel consumption. In Buffalo, a man built himself a 16-foot geodesic houseboat in just a few weeks for less than $2,000. And if you want to have your mind blown, check out the photos from this year's Bloemencorso Zundert flower parade in the Netherlands, which features floats made from thousands of flowers.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: 3D-printed car, Coca-Cola Life and a supermaterial stronger than graphene or diamond
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Does the idea of driverless cars make you queasy? Better get used to it: Researchers are predicting that more than 95 million autonomous cars could hit the road by 2035. But, speaking of cars we actually want to drive, Tesla Motors continued its banner year, as the Model S earned the highest safety score of any car ever tested. In other green transportation news, KAIST unveiled a new folding, electric micro car that can fit into just about any parking space. Copenhagen announced plans to launch the world's most high-tech bike-sharing program, which will include bikes with GPS-enabled Android tablets. A grad student at the Royal College of Art recently produced plans for a 3D-printed car concept that actually assembles itself. But the form of urban transportation that looks like the most fun to ride is the Scrooser, a foot-powered scooter with an electric motor that zips around town at speeds of up to 15 MPH. And Vanmoof is set to release a new electric bike in 2014 that is already being billed as the world's most intelligent commuter bike.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: 'practical' jetpack, self-healing solar cell and lab-grown heart tissue
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Tesla CEO Elon Musk wowed the tech and business worlds this week when he unveiled plans for a 700MPH solar-powered Hyperloop train that could catapult people from San Francisco to LA in just over half an hour. Although the plan is highly conceptual, nothing associated with Musk can be written off as fantasy these days. The news somehow managed to overshadow all other futuristic transportation stories, like Martin Aircraft's unveiling of a "practical" jetpack that can travel at speeds of up to 60MPH and reach an altitude of 8,000 feet. Meanwhile, German designer Andreas Blazunaj unveiled a sleek hybrid concept vehicle that looks more like a spaceship than a car. An Australian high school student designed a solar-powered car that could be used to transport pregnant Zimbabwean women to hospitals. And the team behind the Bloodhound Supersonic Car announced that it will use a 3D-printed nose cone in its attempt break the 1,000MPH speed record in summer 2015.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: zero-distortion mirror, stem cell hamburger and a tent that fits in a sneaker
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. It's been a big week for planes, trains and automobiles as California (finally) announced plans to break ground on the US' first high-speed rail and we speculated on just how Elon Musk's 600MPH Hyperloop train will work. Inhabitat also brought you the scoop on BMW's 2014 i3, which is the world's first electric vehicle made mostly from carbon fiber. Green vehicles proved they could go the distance as a 65-year-old man embarked on a 1,200-mile journey in a solar-powered tricycle, and a crop of green-roofed buses brought lush air-purifying plants to congested city centers. And if you're planning an outdoor adventure this summer, you won't want to miss this caravan that doubles as a boat, Mini's new ultra compact luxury campers and the full-sized tent that fits in a pair of sneakers.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: GO pop-up camper, coconut carbon water filter and all-electric superbikes
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. It's difficult to think about winter in the middle of a very hot summer, but if you live in Norway, winter never seems too far off. There, engineers have come up with a creative solution for the lack of winter sunlight by setting up a cluster of large mirrors to direct natural light toward the town of Rjukan, which sits in a valley. In the US, scientists are developing new techniques to harvest the power of the sun, as a team of researchers from the University of Maryland has developed a long-lasting battery that's made from wood. 3D printers are capable of amazing feats, but a new study finds they release a high amount of ultrafine particles into the air, which can be harmful if inhaled. Star Wars fans will be saddened to learn that migrating dunes in Tunisia are threatening to destroy one of the most famous filming locations captured in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. And in the week's most inexplicable example of environmental destruction, the US military dropped four bombs on the Great Barrier Reef as part of a training exercise.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: anti-mosquito sticker, a cancer-identifying scalpel and the world's largest offshore wind farm
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Urine and cellphones don't mix -- just ask anyone who has ever dropped their phone in the toilet. At least that's what we thought before learning that a team of UK scientists has created the world's first pee-powered cellphone, which is based on microbial fuel cells. In other renewable energy news, the Peruvian government is providing free electricity to over 2 million of its poorest citizens by harvesting energy from the sun, and China just became the world's first country to install 3 GW of utility-scale solar. Wind power is also on the rise as CalTech researcher John Dabiri figured out a way to make cheaper, more efficient wind farms inspired by schools of fish, and construction began this week on the world's largest offshore wind farm on the Fukushima coast. And in an unusual paring of renewable energy and architecture, Morphocode has designed a futuristic-looking loft that is nestled on top of an offshore wind turbine.